Ukraine's
president-elect has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in France. Their
short, informal meeting came on the sidelines of ceremonies to mark the 70th
anniversary of the D-Day landings.
News
agencies on Friday cited an official from French President Francois Hollande's
office who said Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko
had spoken for a total of 15 minutes.
"The
conversation took place on possible measures to de-escalate (the Ukraine
crisis) including how Moscow could recognize the election of Poroshenko. The
details of a ceasefire will also be discussed in coming days," the unnamed
official said.
News
agencies also reported that they had spoken briefly in the presence of
Chancellor Merkel, with whom Putin had held an hour of formal talks in
Benouville.
On
Thursday, Merkel had met with Poroshenko in Berlin, when the chancellor pledged
Germany's broad support in his efforts to overcome the crisis in Ukraine.
All three
were among the world leaders in France on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary
of the D-Day landings. In the days leading up to the ceremonies, there had been
much speculation about whether Poroshenko and Putin would actually speak.
Their
meeting comes a day after the leaders of the Group of Seven leading
industrialized countries wrapped up talks with a call for de-escalation in
fighting between government troops and pro-Russia separatists in eastern
Ukraine. They also called on Putin to recognize the outcome of Ukraine's recent
presidential election.
pfd/hc (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)
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